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 October 3, 2008
Cinnabon - Behind the Counter
I was just sitting on a table by Cinnabon waiting for a friend (who was already 3 hours late!!!). To while away the time, I observed the woman behind the counter. What else could she be doing but take orders, prepare and serve them...and that's it! Do nothing until the next customer walks in. Wrong!
After she served the customers, she never rested. She was busy doing all the other things 'invisible' to us - washing, drip-drying, then wiping dry the dishes, cleaning/clearing the counter space, cutting-up freebies for customer free-tasting, going out in front of the store offering them, mopping the floor, balancing the monies from the cash register, preparing popular orders ahead of time, etc. She would only drop everything when there's a new customer...then resumes to do the whole thing.
| Name: |
Tin-Tin |
| Company: |
Cinnabon |
| Job Title: |
OIC w/o the manager |
| Duties: |
cash handling, staff training, same as all contractual employees |
| Monthly Pay: |
10K+ |
| Unique Challenges: |
having to deal with different people with different moods. Some are too rushed to listen to her 'value selling' |
| Remarks: |
employer is fair, but it's tough to make both ends meet with just 10K/month and a child to put through school. Ideal paycheck? 15K. |
Ending Thoughts
Deep inside, I felt embarrassed to have assumed it was a 'walk on the park' to be doing what she was doing. Observing her do all those things (while no customer was around) revealed to me an 'invisible' world. Now, I can better appreciate the efforts put behind by the people on the other side of the counter. I now have an idea how much they make, how hard their jobs are, the unique challenges they face, etc. They are no longer nameless random lives that exist parallel to mine, but flesh and blood struggling to make both ends meet.
This starts my section on Random Lives...getting a glimpse of the invisible world behind the lives we encounter but don't take particular notice of.
--- TheLoneRider
Comments? Email webmaster@thelonerider.com
 Christine Esguerra
(Dec 2, 2008) Thank you for appreciating my work. I'm happy and honored to be in your column. More power and god bless!!!
 Gem
(Nov 20, 2008) BTW, I read your blog....the girl wno works at Cinnabon. It reminded me of a young lady employed by Surplus Shop at SM na nakausap ko lang just recently about life and making ends meet :-)
 Jim Ward
(Nov 18, 2008) Very very nice...our staff at Bliss are like this...thru your brief story you made me appreciate them even more. I have a book ' Working ' by my favorite Chicago writer Studs Terkel...on a similar vein which you'd enjoy. I will dig it up and hold for your next Baguio pass by or my long overdue Sagada getaway.
 PJ
(Nov 17, 2008) nice glimpse
 Elsie Yang
(Nov 17, 2008) I like the writeup about her, if she needs work I can recommend her to a resto here in Morato.
 Dana
(Nov 17, 2008) Wow, will you be starting this as a series? Galing! Nice to read about people and their unique situations. You seem pa like the type of guy people will really open up to with their stories.
»» next story: Interview with John Lapuz on Showbiz Central
»» next Random Lives story: Sam, the Coconut Man
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